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PATENTED JAN. 19, 1904.

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f 1 c a H. R. CASSEL. PROCESS OF'EXTRAQTING PREGIOU S METALS BY ELBGTROLYSIS.

APPLICATION rmm 00125. 1902. N0 MODEL.

j":- apparatus foricarrying my invention into ef- Patented January 19, 1904.

PATENT -HENaY R. CAS SEL,"(I)F- YORKQNY. 2 1

moeessoa EXTRA'CTING Pnizclous METALS BY -ELECTaoL YSIS,

f si ncIricArIoN forming wa Lettera l atentjlfio, mange, dated Jai f a 1994. I Q

7 Application filed October 26,1902

To allay/tom itr-mdyconcerfi:

- Be itknown that I,- HENRY R'CASSEL; a citizen of the-United States; residing at New York: city, (Manhattan county andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processesof Extracting Precious Metalsby Electrolysis; ofiwhich the following is :a specification).

This inventionrelates to i an improvedprocess 'for extractmgpr'ecious metals from orepulp or solutions fly-electrolysis,theobjectof the invention. being to ensure perfect amalgamation and precipitation of the metals.

-1n the accompanying draWings,-Figure l is a vertical longitudinal sectional section of an feet. Fig. 2 isa cross-section on line 2 2, Fig. 11; Fig 3,a uny-Fig. 4,-a detail of the mar-t cury-troughy Fig, 5, a longitudinalsection of a modification of the The letter or represents an electrolyzing tank or cell having pointed bottom a" with door. a The alternating cathodes 6 and anodes T are arranged in averticalwposition, the cathodes being removably-suspended within the tank consists of a pipefi, made of-iron," earthenware, or any suitablematerial, said pipe. ex-

i tending from the boxd, to a point above bottom -a. Theelower end'of pipe d embraces the nozzle cl offan air-,blowerd, by means'of which the pulp is forced up through the pipe back linto the box, p A i .Into the lowermost point of bottom a enters ;a mercury-pipe e,-that orms part of a, mercury air-lift. iThQp-ipei-e" communicates withan upright pipe e, inth the lovver end of which -tains an amalgam-filter e.

the pot e communicates by pipe a with one. end of an inclined acidrbox e, Within which gpparatus, and Fig. 6 is ation of the pulp-lifter.

enters an air-jet nozzle e The'pipe e' discharges at its upper end into a pot e", that con- Bel'ow such filter the mercury is purified byrunning through dilute sulfuric acid. The box e is'traversed by a. number. of partitions 6 having openings at opposite ends, thusforrning a long sinuous course that insures thorough exposure of the mercury to the acid. The purified mercury is discharged at the i opposite. end of: box? a? through pipe e, having co'cke", intoa number i of connected perforated iron troughs 6 a'rranged directly above the cathodes b. The

pipe a is always kept filled with mercury, so

as to retain the sulfuric acid in "the box, or the pipe may be arranged in the form of an In order to effect: a --thor-:

inverted siphon. ough amalgamation of the cathodes; With a limited quantity of mercury, the perforations in the troughs e are settat a considerable distance "apart and the troughs are made horizontally slidable overthe cathodes, so that they act somewhat like a movable sprinkler.

The means for imparting a horizontal recip-- rocating movement to the troughs are shown to consist of an eccentric f, connected to the troughs by pitmanf. The troughsare provided with rails f traveling on overhead pulleys fi, that are suspended from supports f. r By the means described the mercury will thus be discharged from the troughs 0 over vthe cathodes to amalgamate them thoroughly andwill then be returned by air-jet nozzle e through pipes e e' into the pot a, and thencethrough filter e and acid-box a back to. the troughs.

To insureta perfect amalgamationof the I cathodes and prevent the mercury from reache ing the an0des,I flank each of the cathodes bya number of slats or deflectors g, thatare inclined from top to bottom toward: the cathendsto within about half an, inch. 5 The deflectorsserve to continuously throw the 11181:

cury as it rebounds frorn theicathode back odes and approach the same at. their lower fect, an open chamber around the, cathodes that confines the mercury to the same. At its upper end each deflector. is provided with a downwardly-inclined guard g, by means of which the stream of descending ulp is diverted toward the anodes. Joint y the deflectorsandguards g g form a number of inverted-V-shaped open partitions between the anodes and cathodes.

The guards g g are preferably made of wood or other non-conductive material.

In carrying out my invention by means of the above apparatus I proceed as follows: The mercury is introduced into tank a in sufficient quantity to constantly cover the lower portion of the converging bqttom. The pulverized ore is converted into a' pulp, prefer-- ably in an agitating vat, and is mixed with a solvent, such ascyanid of potassium. If necessary,'chlorid of sodium or another salt may be added to render the pulp more conductive. The pulp thus prepared is run into a tank a and is through pipe (2 carried into box (1 by means of air-jet pipe (II From box d the pulp flows into the laundersd and falls thence upon the anodes c and between the electrodes, and is thus kept in circulation. As the pulp descends through the tank it is directed toward the anodes by the guards g. The airjet e will lift the mercury through pipe 0' into pot 6, within which the coarse amalgam is retained by filter e. This amalgam is removed from time to time, while the filtered mercury" passes through pipe 6 into box e. During electrolysis the mercury takes up some lime, sodium, and other alkaline bases contained in the ore and solution. While a portion of the bases is immediately decomposed into I hydrates by the water, a certain percentage remains in the mercury, thus impairing and retarding its amalgamating quality. Topurify the mercury and neutralize the alkalies contained in the amalgam, I pour into box a dilute sulfuric acid. will cause the mercury to traverse the entire length of the tortuous passage, thus exposing it thoroughly to the action of the acid. Through the cock e the purified mercury enters the per:

forated reciprocating troughs -e and will by them" be evenly discharged over the cathodes.

' Of 'course the effective precipitation of the metals depends upon the areaof the cathodes and also upontheir thorough amalgamation. By using vertical cathodes both sides are rendered active and'exposed to amalgamation and precipitation. It is difiicult, however, to keep vertical cathodes well amalgamated, as the mercury has a tendency to run unevenly along an upright plate, and when meeting-the slightest'obstruction, such as precipitated hydrates, it will rebound or jump off into the moving pulp. As the mercury thereby comes into contact with the anodes it is partly dissolved and loss ensues. To obtain perfect amalga- The zigzag partitions a mation and also preventlthe mercury from reaching the anodes, I have provided the de flectors g and guards g; The deflectors g throw the detached mercury continuously back againstboth sides of the cathodes, while the stream of the descending pulp is by the guards directed toward the anodes. As the amalgam forms'more readily at the points where the mercury impinges against the cathode, the constant throwing back of the mercury will cause a rapid accumulation of the amalgam. The pulp. around the cathodes being, moreover, kept by the guards in a more quiescent state than at the anodes,- the accumulated amalgam is not exposed to the scouring action of the circulating pulp, and thus the amalgam remains undisturbed on the cathodesuntil removed. The stream of constantly-falling pulp being diverted to the anodes, the particles of gold are brought into intimate contact with the same and are rapidly dissolved. The coarser particles of gold are immediately amalgamated and are retained by the filter e. The

finely-divided gold is dissolved and precipitatedu'pon the cathodes as an amalgam, which gradually accumulates on both sides and all over the plates. This amalgam is from time to time removed and collected in the usual manner. When the pulp and solution show by test that the values have been extracted and precipitated, the door a is opened and the contents are discharged.

In Fig. 5 the pointed bottom a is replaced by a sloping bottom a". At its lowest end there is arranged above bottom a and adjoining tank a a pulp-chamber a, which is separated from tank a by an open perforated partition a. The pulp flows from tank a into chamber a through and below partition a and is thence raisedto box (I by pipe d and nozzle d in the manner above described.

In Fig. 6 the air-jet nozzle (i is replaced by a centrifugal pump 6, while the pipe d is arranged along the outer side of tank a in lieu of being arranged within the same.

What I claim is 1. A step in the process of extracting precious metals by electrolysis, which consists in lifting the pulp by an air-jet, distributing the same between the electrodes, and simultaneously amalgamating the cathodes, substantially as specified.

2. A step in the process of extracting precious metals by. electrolysis, which consists in simultaneously lifting the pulp and mercury by air-jets, distributing the pulp between the electrodes, and simultaneously amalgamating the cathodes, substantially as specified.

- 3. A step in the process of extracting precious metals by electrolysis, which consists in amalgamating a vertical cathode and deflecting the rebounding mercury back upon said cathode, substantially asspeicified.

4. A step in the process of extracting-precious metals by electrolysis, whicliconsists in amalgamating a vertical cathode, and successively deflecting the rebounding mercury back upon said cathode, substantially as specified.

5. A step in the process of extracting precious metals by electrolysis, which consists in amalgamating a vertical cathode, and successively deflecting the rebounding mercury toward the cathode, substantially as specified.

6. A step in the process of extracting precious metals by electrolysis,which consists in amalgam ating a vertical cathode, successively deflecting the rebounding mercury toward the cathode, and simultaneously diverting the I 5 pulp toward the anode, substantially as specified 7. A step in the process of extracting precious metals by electrolysis, which consists in amalgamating the cathode, and subjecting the mercury to the purifying and neutralizing action of an acid, substantially as specified.

- 8. A step in the process of extracting pres cious metals by electrolysis, which consists in amalgamating the cathode, collecting the coarse amalgam, subjecting the mercury to the purifying and neutralizing action of an acid, and distributing the mercury over the cathode, substantially as specified.

9. The process of extracting precious metals by electrolysis, which consists in circulating the pulp between vertical electrodes,amalgamating a vertical cathode, successively deflecting the rebounding mercury back upon said cathode, and returning the mercury to the cathode, substantially as specified.

10. The process of extracting precious met als by electrolysis, which consists in circulating the pulp between vertical electrodes, amalgamatinga vertical cathode, successively deflecting the rebounding mercury back upon said cathode, removing the amalgam, neutralizing the alkali in the mercury, and returning the mercury to the cathode, substantially as specified. a 1

Signed by me at New,York city, (Manhattan,) New York, this 24th day of October 1902.

. HENRY R. cAssii Witnesses:

F. v. BRIESEN, EDWARD RAY. 

